§ MR. MARKHAM (Nottinghamshire, Mansfield)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether, during the autumn of last year, he received petitions from British dynamite manufacturers protesting against the attempt of the De Beers Company and others to establish a new dynamite monopoly in South Africa; and whether, seeing that a coast duty of 7s. 6d. a case has recently been sanctioned by Lord Milner, and that the mining companies of the Transvaal other than those controlled by the 943 Directors of the De Beers Company and their friends are opposed to this monopoly, will he instruct Lord Milner to remove this duty in the interest of British manufacturers and the general mining community.
§ MR. J. CHAMBERLAINI have received petitions of the nature stated in the Question. Under the new Customs Unions Convention, which has been laid on the Table, the duty on explosives at the coast ports is fixed at 1½d. per pound or 6s. 3d. a case. The question of an Excise duty of equal amount to the import duty is under consideration.